Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Related to Telomere Length Predispose for Coronary Heart Disease in Chinese Han Population

Abstract To evaluate the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to leukocyte telomere length (LTL) whether cause susceptibility to coronary heart disease (CHD) in Chinese Han. We examined the difference of LTL and the alleles and genotypes of 14 SNPs related to LTL between 86 controls and 207 CHD subjects in Chinese Han, using binary logistic regression and Chi-square test. We confirmed that LTL was different from the two groups (r-T/S: Control 1.01 ± 0.3, CHD 0.82 ± 0.37, P < 0.001). The longer LTL was associated with lower risk of CHD, adjusted by age and gender, etc. (P = 0.001, OR = 0.278, 95% CI 0.132–0.588). To verify the effect of SNPs related to LTL on CHD risk, 14 SNPs were selected for association analysis with CHD. The minor alleles “T” of rs10069690, “A” of rs2242652 and “A” of rs7726159 on TERT were associated with a decreased CHD risk by Chi-square test (P = 0.046, OR = 0.628, 95% CI 0.397–0.994; P = 0.038, OR = 0.612, 95% CI 0.384–0.976; P = 0.026, OR = 0.663, 95% CI 0.462–0.952). The “AA” compared to “CC” of rs7726159 on TERT was associated with a decreased risk CHD risk in the addictive model adjusted by age and sex (P = 0.031, OR = 0.435, 95% CI 0.204–0.926). Our study shows that longer LTL is associated with a decreased CHD risk, and that the SNPs located on the TERT gene are associated with CHD susceptibility.